Energy - Mining

Mining law is in our firm's DNA: since our founding in 1999, we've served many different stakeholders in the mining industry. Given that we have been on all sides of nearly every issue that can arise in the mining business, we bring a unique perspective to bear on our mining clients' problems.

Two of Bailey Glasser’s most long-standing clients have been the Cline Group and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. We have been privileged to serve as counsel to the Cline Group in every significant litigation matter and transaction as the company operations expanded from West Virginia, to Illinois, to Canada, and beyond. For the West Virginia DEP,  we've handled complex litigation over whether its mining program complies with federal law and, more recently, in enormous bankruptcies in which we helped ensure West Virginians were not stuck with the bill for costly reclamation projects.

We also represent many other energy and mining companies in West Virginia and beyond, both in litigation as well as in our corporate practice. 

Our deep bench of lawyers with mining experience handles the following types of matters:

• mining finance
• corporate governance
• purchase/supply and transportation agreements
• land use, leasing, and mineral rights
• vendor and equipment supply agreements
• environmental, health and safety
• internal investigations
• premises and off-premises liability

Even our former opponents in mining transactions or litigation have seen the value we provide our clients, and we have a track record of making clients out of our former adversaries. Our team has negotiated, drafted, and litigated billions of dollars in mining transactions for more than 20 years, and we continue to serve as go-to advisors when a mining company, land company, or regulator is facing existential crises.

We try cases in state and federal courts and before arbitrators and mediators across the country, extending well beyond the boundaries of our 17 offices. Our commercial litigation lawyers are frequently brought in by other law firms to lead bet-the-company litigation, or parachute into appellate matters, particularly when cases are unable to settle, and clients become aware that skilled lawyers in the courtroom and on appeal are now an essential investment.

Our opposing counsel have included some of the largest law firms in the country and we have emerged victorious. 

Although at Bailey Glasser “we try cases,” we also recognize that a preferred outcome may be obtained by negotiation or at an early stage in a lawsuit. Our demonstrated willingness to take cases to trial gives our clients an advantage throughout the litigation process.

Complementing the firm’s litigation prowess is our cutting-edge Electronically Stored Information (“ESI”) practice group whose chair (partner Katherine Charonko) is CEDS certified. This CEDS certification is unique and highly sophisticated for a firm our size and allows us to expertly handle eDiscovery, including information management, collection, implementation, data culling, data production, and international discovery that permits us to be litigation-ready, no matter the case size, with speed and cost-effectiveness. 

We are grateful that our lawyers have received top rankings and accolades across the country, including founding partner Brian Glasser's being named by Forbes a 2024 Top 200 Lawyer in America and 2025 Top 250 Lawyer, as well as a Lawdragon Top 500 Leading Litigator in America list since 2024. He was also named by Best Lawyers a "Lawyer of the Year" in Energy Law in 2023.

For more information about our lawyers' rankings and accomplishments, please visit here.

    

Related Practices

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Our Team

Experience

• Settled dispute over $320 million coal royalty agreement in bet-the-company litigation involving allegations of breach of a complex sale-leaseback transaction and of veil piercing of multiple layers of a Master Limited Partnership
• Advising limited partnership interest holders through multiple in- and out-of-court restructurings of mining limited partnerships
• Represented senior secure lender in billion-dollar coal mining bankruptcy facing emergency motions for priming loans; work involved detailed review of future business plans and value of collateral as component of ongoing business
• Obtained an over $2 million verdict in breach of coal sales agreement governed by Uniform Commercial Code
• Represented state permitting agency in multiple billion-dollar bankruptcy proceedings in which we sought to protect West Virginia taxpayers from funding reclamation projects of bankrupt mining companies
• Settled multimillion-dollar arbitration over breach of mineral development agreement involving in-depth analysis of coal markets and mineablility and merchantability
• Represented coal sales company in $30 million breach of contract claim arising out of failure to deliver coal under transportation agreement
• Represented a group of heirs and successors to a partnership that proved up a 200-million ton coal-reserve, resulting in a $6.5 million judgment for breach of a royalty agreement
• Advised on over $800 million in coal reserve sale-leaseback transactions
• Litigated dozens of appeals of permits necessary to operate mining businesses including Surface Mine and Reclamation Control Act (SMCRA) Permits, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits, and Clean Water Act Section 404 Dredge and Fill Permits
• Negotiated reclamation and other cleanup agreements for multiple multimillion-dollar projects

News & Insights

Lexology In Depth

Bailey Glasser partners and mining industry authorities Nicholas S. Johnson and Jonathan S. Deem have published a specialist article for the 14th edition of Lexology In-Depth: Mining Law titled “Mining Leases in the United States: The Case for Diligent Development.”  

In this article, Nick and Jonathan explore the unique legal framework of coal mining leases in the U.S., highlighting their dual nature as both conveyance instruments and contracts, and examines the critical obligation of lessees to diligently mine and develop leased properties, ensuring royalties for lessors. ​

The piece also reviews key legal cases, including Bruce McDonald Holding Co v. Addington, Inc., which underscores the importance of addressing lessee obligations and the consequences of lease loopholes with additional legal insights into major mining states like West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Nicholas Johnson is Bailey Glasser's Practice Area Leader of the firm's national and award-winning Corporate, Commercial and Environmental Litigation, Bankruptcy & Business Reorganization, and Criminal Defense & Internal Investigations Practice Areas. Jonathan Deem is Bailey Glasser's Corporate Practice Group Leader where he manages mergers and acquisitions, commercial real estate, private equity, corporate finance, entrepreneurial, and energy and natural resources transactions. Both are ranked by Chambers & Partners, and have deep experience in the mining industry, including Nick's work as in-house counsel for Foresight Energy. 

Nick and Jonathan assist their energy clients in mineral development, commercial litigation, and transactional work across the energy and natural resources sector. Their combined backgrounds span royalty disputes, high-stakes property litigation, mergers and acquisitions, insurance recovery, and complex commercial transactions, gives them a deep understanding of how diligence clauses play out from both a legal and operational perspective. Learn more about Bailey & Glasser's comprehensive energy work here.

Lexology is a global legal intelligence platform providing thought leadership, insights, analysis, and expert guidance from the world’s leading law firms.